Dear companions of our beloved homelands of Hāmākua nei, great aloha to you all. We are going to set aside the moʻolelo of our great aliʻi of Hāmākua for a short time, and turn our attention to closely examine one of the famous mele (chant, song) of the people of old, which was composed for Kiha-a-Piʻilani and his chiefly family from Maui. Mele are very important to the Hawaiian people, as they demonstrate our aloha for our ʻāina, our aliʻi, and our ʻohana. In the composition of mele, like this mele for Kiha-a-Piʻilani, fragments of the moʻolelo of the ancestors and akua of ancient times are carefully selected and braided together like a treasured lei. In such a mele can be found a particular story about the one for whom that “lei” was created. Therefore, it is important that we perpetuate our mele with accuracy and without cutting them short, so that the moʻolelo of our kūpuna are passed on to future generations properly. In the year 1862, one of the famous writers of Hawaiʻi, Joseph H. Kanepuu, wrote about the importance of (re)publishing mele in their entirety in the newspapers. According to him, if we shorten or abbreviate the mele when we publish them, “How are the parts left out to be found by the generations after us? Should they want to see them, they will be nowhere to be found and will soon be forgotten…The future generations of Hawaiians of the year 1870, and 1880, and 1890, and 1990 will want to know” (Ka Hoku o ka Pakipika, 30 Oct. 1862). Therefore, with great appreciation and respect for the author who wrote down and published this entire mele for us, the generation of Hawaiians of the year 2016, this humble writer is republishing it here just as the storytellers before me have shared it with us. Because the future generations of Hawaiʻi of the year 2050, and 2070, and 2116, and 2216 are going to want to know, until the very last descendant of aloha ʻāina lives.

Chapter VIII.​Let us now look at this Mele, presented here below, which was composed perhaps in the time of [Kamehameha] I, II, or III, so that we may come to know of ʻUmi’s wahine, Piʻikea and her brothers, born of Piʻilani.

Kukaipaoa, the lofty one is a chief,A chief of the heavens, a cloudOf the great heaven is Kumakomako,A chief of the rocky cliffs of Kahuku,They are the solid chiefs belonging to LonokaehoIt was the brow of Lono that was anointed with the water of the coconut,That was dedicated with the black pig of KaneThe black pig, the ʻawa hiwa of Lono,O Lono, here is your royal offspring,Your leaf, your shoot, your offshoot, your bud,Your sacred chief, [Kihapiilani];Your chiefly offspring who stands in the light.Protected is the sacred bud of Keaka,The tall, straight sprout of KeakamahanaThat grew and flowered,The drooping flower of Hemahema and Kaikilani,To whom belonged the drooping leaves of Kanaloa,Like the black haired dog in whose eyeBlackness dwells in the pupil,With striped marks on the forehead,Marks of the kikakapu,The sacred fish with the bitter gall.Bitter of the chief Keaka, a wahine,Who grew and developed through Keakealani, a kāne.By them was the sacred law broken,Broken by the product of the great chiefs.Here is a great district chief standing here;Kauhi is great; it is the foundation of the isles.Keaka is great for she has produced eight.The seas of her lands are noised on the shoals,As rolling waves from the shoals of Kahiki.Keawe the great commander has arrived,The only offspring of the cloud in the heavenBy the chief, Kalanikauleleaiwi,This is Keakaʻs chiefly one, by Keawe.That attraction was Piilani,For Keawe dwelt at Piilaniʻs,The gathering place of great chiefs.A chief, several chiefs were seen;They are the chiefs who go idly by,Walking about until the close of the day.In the month born of Ikiiki.The heaven above is panting [for breath],The rain for the month is far removed,Far driven away is the rain.The earth is suffering as one in travail.The mountain trembles, the flood gushes with violence;It is indeed stormy for the lands are overturned and floating,The breast of the island is floatingOn the dividing current of Kuala.Of the small person of the island,For the sound of crackling is heard,It is the chiefs on the place of prayer,They are the people of the sacred houseWithin the confines of mana, the lizard.One belonging to Hina, taken by Haloa.Excellent Kalani, he is being delayed.Boasting of his being a great favoriteWhen the word came to himTo take charge of his kingdom,For the chief was of the month of Ikiiki, of Kaaona,Of Hanaia, of Hinaiaeleele.Thence came Piikea the wahine of Umi,She was the first-born of Laielohelohe,Given birth through Piilani.Lonopii was born, a male.Given birth through Piilani.Kihaapiilani was born, a male.Given birth through Piilani.Kihaapiilani, Kalanilonakea.[Of] light skin [and] white loin cloth, Kihapiilani shall see bitterness.There were four from Laielohelohe,They possessed the boarder of the kapuOf Kalamaku of Kauhiholua,Of Kauhiholua, of Lupeikalani.It was Nalu that spun the fish-line of Makalii,The fish-line of three strands which excels in length.The chief is like a hidden strandWhich was caught at Miloa by Hanauane,[Kuhihewa] was then born.Kaihikapu of Kuihewa was the younger,Kaihikapu with the thick skin,Crackled skin, crackled by the kapu.The thick, ugly skin of the chief Mano,Mano, of the sharp skin, the rough skin,Like the roughness of the pumpkin leaf,Like the roughness of the rough-skinned fish,The peculiar skin of Mano, he of the hard forehead.The seed of Mano, belonging to ManoIs the loin product of Mano.Together with [Nohoamakalii],Mano lived and cohabited with Pulanaieie;Kalanipiilani was his childThe only offspring of Manokalanipo,The eyes are like two kindly chiefsWho are haughty in their lofty position.The light showers of the summerWere scattered on the plain of Kailo,Calmness is seen at Hauoa of Keawe,Gathering on the heated road,The calm and clearness have reached you two.Drooping is the diminutive of Puna,Puna of the angry eyes,The guardian of KahinanaloThe isle of Ohikihokolio,Previously secured for my chief;For the sand crab, let joy prevail,The long-lived chief, watch over him.*

To all the people reading this Moʻolelo, this Mele was not composed in the time of ʻUmi. It is a newer Mele from a time not long past. But I have included it here in this Moʻolelo so that we might come to understand better why Piʻikea became a wahine of ʻUmi, and so that we might come to know her brothers’ story. I do not think, however, that all of the lyrics of this Mele are completely correct. Some are surely incorrect. For example, let us look at one line of this Mele, which says that Piʻikea is the firstborn “makahiapo” that Piʻilani birthed. However, she was not the first born. Lonoapiʻi (referred to as Piʻilani in this version of the moʻolelo) was the first. [Dear readers, here is another short explanation from the version of this moʻolelo that was published by Abraham Fornander: “The history of the [chiefs] of Maui is mentioned in this chant and the composition of it was made solely for the Maui [chiefs].”]

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About the story...

"He Moolelo no Umi" is one of the earliest known published versions of the story of ʻUmi-a-Liloa, the great chief of Hāmākua, Hawaiʻi. The version of this story that is republished and translated here was first published by Simeon Keliikaapuni and J. H. Z. Kalunaaina in 1862, in the Hawaiian language newspaper called Ka Nupepa Kuokoa. After Keliikaapuni & Kalunaaina published "He Moolelo no Umi," similar versions of this important moʻolelo were published and republished in newspapers by a number of others throughout the 19th and 20th centuries. Our kūpuna clearly valued this moʻolelo and the lessons it imbued upon each generation who learned it. We, in the same spirit that inspired our kūpuna to retell this moʻolelo, represent it here, in both its original language and in english, so that our generation and the many generations to come may derive knowledge from the important lessons held within this moʻolelo. And so that we, kamaʻāina of Hāmākua, may find pride in the deep cultural heritage and history of our beloved homelands, the birthplace of this great chief, ʻUmi-a-Līloa.

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